About the Grower: We had the pleasure of meeting Sophie Vaidya and family in Vancouver (of all places) for the first time. As we learned about their project in Eastern Nepal, we planned a trip to this magical land.
The Vaidya family has a fairly short tea history; Dr. Vijay Gajananda Vaidya, a first-generation tea grower, turned a lifelong dream into four tea gardens: Guranse, Nigale, and Dharamsala (in the Koshi Region), and Mai (in Ilam). Among the many things to love about this project:
Land planted with a dozen different cultivars in gardens ranging in altitude from 1000m to 2200m; this gives the family access to a wide variety of flavours.
No fear to experiment. The team constantly tinkers with recipes.
Training, employment, and oftentimes lodging is provided to many locals who were previously having trouble finding work.